Christie's 2016 Appeal in One Chart

23 Jul 2013

This chart created by Business Insider shows why Chris Christie is unique among potential candidates in 2016.

Business Insider took polling data from a Quinnipiac survey of Iowa voters and created the chart. What it shows is that Christie is unique among possible 2016 candidates in having net support from Republicans, Independents and even Democrats.

Hillary Clinton is supported by 88 percent of Democrats with 8 percent who say they do not support her (hence the 80 percent net support shown in the chart). Christie is supported by only 49 percent of Republicans with 14 percent who do not support him. However, Christie gets support from 43 percent of independents and 37 percent of Democrats. In short, Christie is not disliked by any segment of the electorate.

In a head to head match up between Christie and Clinton, the result is a 41-41 tie. This suggests most people would vote party line in the event of an actual contest between them. However, Christie’s more positive numbers among independents and even Democrats suggest he has more upside potential than Clinton who is a known quantity and unlikely to win over many Republican converts.

As Business Insider sums it up “If you’re a political party whose problem is that your appeal is not
broad enough, nominating the candidate with broad appeal should be a
no-brainer.”